Chapter 5 Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The bed I laid on was soft, so soft it almost didn’t feel real.
I laid still for a moment, eyes closed and just simply felt it. The cool slide of fabric on my skin was nothing like the rough linen I had slept on my entire life.
Then, bit by bit, my memories began to unfold in piece. The wood, The smell of Woodsmoke and rain, the stream.
And I remembered how I tried to escape but was caught by…Alpha Darius.
"You shouldn't have run"
I gasped, my eyes flying open.
I froze.
Where was I?
The ceiling above me was high and carved with detail I couldn't explain.
I wasn't dreaming.
I sat up slowly and looked around. The room was large, larger than any room I'd ever woken up in.
A tall window at the far wall let in pale morning light.
A table with a single candle burned low in the center and a heavy chair was by the fireplace.
I gasped when I looked down at myself. I wasn't wearing the old shapeless wool dress I had worn for the past three years, but a simple clean and soft dress in a pale color.
I stared at it for a long moment. Someone had changed my dress while I was unconscious. An uncomfortable feeling twisted in my chest at the thought.
I pinched the inside of my wrist and jolted in pain.
It was real. This was real.
I wasn't in the dungeon which I was supposed to be in.
Maybe I'd already been murdered and this was the after life.
Maybe the moon goddess had a particular taste in furnishings.
I stepped down from the bed gently, my legs hitting the marble floor.
I crossed the room to the door and tried the handle but it wouldn't budge.
Locked.
I stood there with my hand still on the handle, the small hope I had been carrying died quickly.
I pressed my head against the cool wood of the door and closed my eyes briefly.
I wasn't dead. Not yet and that was what mattered.
I tried the handle again but still the same. I pushed myself back from the door and turned to the room.
My stomach groaned loudly and I realized I hadn't eaten since the night of my escape.
How long have I been here?
Days?
Hours?
Weeks?
I didn’t know.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps outside the door and I hurried back to the bed.
The door unlocked with a sharp click.
A huge guard stood by the door, his gaze locked on me without blinking.
“You're awake," he said gruffy.
“Y—yes"
“Follow me.” He turned to leave. " Now!”
And I simply obeyed.
The guard steered me through long corridors, his grip on my arm ungentle.
Where was he taking me?
I felt the urge to ask him but I decided against it out of fear he might strike me. He already looked and sounded intimidating.
The floors here were the same dark marble as the room I had woken up in. The walls were carved of ancient stones.
This was not my pack's quarters. This was somewhere else entirely.
The realization settled over me slowly. When Alpha Darius had said you're coming with me in the woods, I had assumed he meant back to the dungeon.
He had taken me back to his own territory.
I almost stopped walking at the thought of it. He had brought me to the Crimson Moon Pack.
The guard slowed and stopped before a large door at the end of the corridor. He knocked once and a pause followed.
Then a voice from inside, low and even said "Bring her in."
My stomach dropped. Why had he brought me here? What was waiting for me inside?
Maybe I'd find my answers behind the giant door.
The air in the room shifted as we entered, and every instinct in me screamed to back out of the room.
I kept my eyes down, studying every other thing in the room; the dark rug between my feet, and the stillness in the room.
"She's awake.” I heard the guard say.
A brief silence fell in the room.
"Look up,” a particularly familiar voice said. My breath caught as I slowly lifted my head.
Alpha Darius was seated on the high table across the room, his presence filling the space without effort.
His piercing eyes were fixed on me, unblinking. I made myself hold his gaze for exactly one second before my eyes instinctively dropped again.
And that's when I saw her.
Kira.
Seated elegantly across the table from him was Beta Cain's daughter and Sloane's best friend. For a moment, I genuinely thought I had imagined her.
My chest tightened painfully. Kira was far worse than Sloane.
What was she doing here?
The question lasted only a second before I realized the answer.
The mating ceremony.
Kira was going to be the Luna of this pack.
